Springfield relay team gets redemption, climbs podium twice after DQ last year

Jun 6, 2023

Correspondent photo / Robert Hayes. Springfield's Ava Vecchione starts to run while she prepares for the baton from her teammate during the 4x200 relay this weekend at the OHSAA state track and field meet at Ohio State's Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. Springfield placed fifth in the event.

COLUMBUS — After disqualifying during the 4x100m preliminaries last June, a sense of redemption was in order for Springfield. They can now consider that goal accomplished, as the Tigers relay team of Emma Sanders, Caly Matey, Ava Vecchione and Graciella Ebert, found themselves on the podium not just once, but twice during the Division III finals Saturday at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.

A time of 50.12 seconds was speedy enough for third in the 4×100 and the Tigers added a fifth-place finish earlier during the meet in the 4×200 with a time of 1:44.61.

Ebert, the lone senior on the relay team, was beyond happy for her fellow Tigers.

"To share it with these girls, I feel like we’ve always been together," said Ebert. "I think really we practice every day together and we really are really close friends so we put our trust in each other to go along with that.

"It's even better to come back in, come back for revenge got top three in the (4x100m). Especially (Friday), we made it, but it wasn't our best, but to make it from eighth to third today, so that was a really big jump and we PRed in the 4x200m as well. So it's just really exciting."

Vecchione, Sanders, and Ebert competed and took fourth during the 4x200m last June and added Matey, who ran as an alternate in 2022, to the platoon this summer.

"It was hard, especially mentally, because I had to prepare myself and I’m one to work myself up a lot, so it's just hard," said Matey about competing as a main runner. "It makes me want to push myself harder to get even better."

The nerves once again became a bit unsettled prior to the 4×100 finals when a barrage of popping sounds signaled a false start. This time, it was the Tigers watching another team have to take the walk off the track on the biggest stage.

Sanders knew the feeling all too well, but understood she had to re-engage. During the 4×200 the blocks crew mistakenly forgot to issue a block to Springfield's lane. With sprinters, every little miscue or change could have an impact on their pre-race rhythm.

"I had my teammates just saying get back into it, get back into a groove, I had fans helping me out, it was just getting back into the mental game," said Sanders. "My heart definitely broke for (Fort Recovery), I got a little nervous. Everyone gets a little nervous on a false start, when I saw that, it kinda took me back. I felt bad for them, I clapped them off, then I was like it's game time, ready to go.

"When I get into the block, everything just cancels out. Sound, can't hear any of it. I just hear myself breathing, and I walk myself through it right before I go."

There were smiles on the podium for the representatives from New Middletown, considering how the Tigers just made the cut for finals in eighth out of nine spots during the preliminaries on Friday.

Vecchione saw the hunger in her team.

"We all know our potential, we all know we’ve ran faster before," Vecchione said. "It was just a rough start, but today we woke up, we had a better feeling and were more excited and motivated. It's crazy hearing the crowd cheer for you on the backstretch. It kinda motivates you to go because all of these people are watching you whether it's home or our family in the stands.

"We just came back, we knew we could do it and we did it, so it's so exciting. Knowing that yesterday in school everyone was saying they were watching us, so it's exciting to know we have that support, and so many people drove down to Columbus, it's great."

At the end of the day, it's about representing the community of New Middletown.

"Especially coming from a small town, I feel like everyone has our back. The parents and community have been behind us the whole way." Ebert said.

Sanders added. "It's really nice, coming from no open enrollment, we all were raised there. It's just awesome to come compete with everybody else."

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